Stop, collaborate and listen...
This is a sh*t call on the coach's part, but now we're here...Play on and explain to the defensive coach that you appreciate his vigilance, but the fact is that the guy is a pinch hitter batting FOR THE 8th BATTER IN THE ORDER. He reported, batted and the number nine batter was not allowed an at bat, so how was he out of order???
OBR says that the batter must appear in the order his name appears...TRUE
but, the uniform must contain a number only - names are the bonus here.
and, we know that deception wasn't the basis for this error, so we correct the matter. The intent of this rule was to prevent a team from batting in whatever order they chose - this was not the case here. Our job is to interpret the rules and apply them.
Finally, since most of our house and school leagues have a communicable disease policy (no blood on the uniform), a player can exchange jerseys and continue to play. The umpires kicked this one...
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